audiobookctl

A command-line tool for reading, editing, and organizing m4b audiobook metadata.

Features

• Show metadata - Display audiobook metadata in pretty, JSON, or single-field format
• Edit metadata - Edit tags in your $EDITOR with TOML format and side-by-side diff preview
• Safety-first - Dry-run by default, backups before modifications, pending edits cache

Installation

cargo install --path .

Or build from source:

cargo build --release

Usage

Show metadata

# Pretty print all metadata
audiobookctl show book.m4b

# Output as JSON
audiobookctl show book.m4b --json

# Get a specific field
audiobookctl show book.m4b --field title

Edit metadata

# Open in $EDITOR, preview changes (dry-run)
audiobookctl edit book.m4b

# Apply pending changes
audiobookctl edit book.m4b --no-dry-run

# Skip confirmation prompt
audiobookctl edit book.m4b --no-dry-run --yes

# Clear pending edits
audiobookctl edit --clear
audiobookctl edit book.m4b --clear

# Delete backup after verifying changes
audiobookctl edit book.m4b --commit

# Delete all backups in current directory
audiobookctl edit --commit-all

Safety Model

Data safety is paramount. Audiobook files are irreplaceable user data.

• All modifying operations are dry-run by default
• Use --no-dry-run to actually apply changes
• Backups (.bak files) are created before any modification
• Pending edits are saved to ~/.cache/audiobookctl/pending/ so you can review before applying
• Use --no-backup-i-void-my-warranty to skip backups (not recommended)

Supported Metadata Fields

TOML Edit Format

When editing, metadata is presented as TOML:

# Audiobook Metadata - Edit and save to apply changes
# Commented fields are empty - uncomment and fill to add values

title = "Project Hail Mary"
author = "Andy Weir"
# narrator = ""
series = "Standalone"
# series_position = 0
year = 2021
description = "Ryland Grace is the sole survivor..."
# publisher = ""
genre = "Science Fiction"
# isbn = ""
# asin = ""

# Read-only (cannot be edited)
# duration = "16:10:35"
# chapters = 32
# cover = "embedded (1400x1400 JPEG)"

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.